Crowd Funding Campaign Launched For Survivor of NYC High Rise Fire

A crowd funding campaign has been set up to assist Michael Todd Cohen, victim of a recent fire in a midtown Manhattan highrise that claimed the life of his husband, playwright Daniel McClung.

The online campaign, which is being hosted by crowd funding site Fund Anything, was launched by web producer Jenni Powell on behalf of the International Academy of Web Television (IAWTV), a nonprofit organization comprised of leaders in the field of web video, and the digital entertainment industry. Cohen is a digital media producer whose resume includes work with AOL and Lumina Films.

"Michael Todd Cohen and his new husband, Daniel McClurg, were trapped during a highrise fire in the building where they lived in Manhattan. Horribly, Daniel did not survive and Michael is in critical condition. He will face many financial burdens because of this and the online community wants to show their support by creating this campaign for him, with all contributions garnered going to help him in his recovery process."

Crowd funding has become an increasingly effective tool to raise money to cover costs for numerous ventures ranging from film projects to honeymoons to medical expenses. In 2013, $113,000 was raised to assist author and transgender activist Kate Bornstein as she underwent treatment for lung cancer.

As of this writing, $5,807 of the $10,000 goal has been raised to assist Cohen.

Officials from the New York Fire Department say the vicious fire that blazed through a 42-story Manhattan apartment building, which resulted in the death of a gay playwright and injured his new husband, was caused by an extension cord.

In response to the recent fire in a Manhattan high rise that killed a gay man and seriously injured his husband, newly elected City Council Member Corey Johnson proposed legislation today to mandate that communications systems be installed in stairwells.